By Ida Nadirah Ibrahim
SHAH ALAM, April 20 — No deaths linked to Covid-19 were recorded as of noon today, says the Health director-general.
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said Malaysia also registered the lowest number of new Covid-19 cases at 36.
He said 98 patients have fully recovered from the disease as of today, pushing the total recoveries to 3,295 or a 60.7 per cent recovery rate.
“A total of 5,425 confirmed cases is recorded out of the 113,055 individuals screened and tested (nationwide), which is translated to 4.7 per cent.
“There are 45 patients treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 28 of them require respiratory aid,” he said during the press conference on Covid-19 at the Health Ministry (MOH) in Putrajaya today.
The death toll in the country stands at 89.
Though there has been a downward trend in the daily recorded cases, Dr Noor Hisham said new cases may emerge in the next two weeks following the mass screening operation, the testing on Malaysians who have returned from overseas as well as those in the areas under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO).
He had reminded the public should not take the current developments for granted and to continue adhering to the movement control order (MCO).
“The war is not over yet. We have to make sure the chain of transmission is broken by staying at home, practise good hygiene habits and social distancing of at least 1 metre.
“We would like to see the new cases reach a single digit, maybe in one week,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said even if the MCO has been lifted, the public must continue to remain at home unless there is a need to go out.
He said the government is looking into on how to mitigate the MCO exit strategy.
“We have to make sure that slowly but surely we can return back to the new norm… we may take some time between three to six months and our policies must change, such as on mass gatherings and on social distancing,” he added.
